Manny the Marlin at 50-50

Reports are flowing in on the Manny to the Marlins situation, all of which contain differing information. Until or if a deal gets done, I doubt we'll know which players and/or teams are involved.

The one thing most sources seem to agree on, however, is that the deal is about a 50-50 go. The indicator, they claim, will not be agreed upon players so much as time constraints. There are so many variables being tossed around that the deal just might not be completed by 4PM. This should be very interesting.

It's worth noting, however, that suddenly Ryan Tucker isn't a certainty and neither is Mike Stanton. Who is it then? Lots of confusing information. I'll do my best to sort it out before the end of the day.

Manny Mania: The Scoop

Just got back from the Marlins' scintillating 7-5 win over the Mets...which further solidifies my belief that the Fish should go for it all, RIGHT NOW.

What better way to do that than by adding one of baseball's all-time greats, Manny Ramirez. And this wouldn't just be Manny...this would be a motivated Manny. This would be a case of Manny being the best Manny.

Here are the details:

Some reports had a three-way trade between the Marlins, Red Sox, and Pirates already done. Things have since stalled a bit, so no word on whether it's finalized. The main contents of the deal involve Jeremy Hermida going to Pittsburgh, Jason Bay going to Boston, and Manny Ramirez coming to Florida. The Marlins would be throwing in Ryan Tucker and likely Mike Stanton (two of their top five prospects, according to rotoworld), while possibly receiving a prospect back. The Red Sox would pay all of Manny's salary.

My thoughts? DO IT! The price is steep, certainly, but Manny is a sure thing. This is a franchise desperately in need of a publicity stunt. The Marlins are deep enough in pitching prospects that they can afford to make the sacrifice.

One thing I have to say: No matter what criticism people levy on the Marlins, they have always shown a propensity to make bold moves. While the rest of the league plays cowards, the Marlins go for it. The Marlins may be cheap, but they have guts. And guts won them two titles already.

Marlins on the Rebound

Things were looking pretty grim for the Marlins. Some thought that 18-17 debacle in Colorado would derail their season...I wondered if they could recover.

Well here are the facts:

1. Since dropping the first three to the Rockies, the Marlins are 4-1. This "nightmare" road trip is now 4-4.

2. Major credit goes to Fredi Gonzalez and Larry Beinfest, for replacing both Ryan Tucker and Mark Hendrickson with Josh Johnson and Chris Volstad. It could not have come a week later.

3. Hanley Ramirez is carrying this team. Last night? Game-winning home run. Remember when he couldn't hit the side of George W. Bush's enormous Crawford, TX barn? All in the past now. This is why he got that hefty contract, and he's earning it all.

So what now?

The Marlins have three games left before the All-Star break. If they can take two of three, they'd cap off the first half with 50 wins (50-45). And let's not forget, they'll have played more road games too.

What a Difference a Day Makes...

Following the 3rd game of the Marlins-Rockies series, it felt as though things were starting to come apart. Our starting rotation, with Ryan Tucker and Mark Hendrickson, couldn't get out of the 4th inning of a game and was looking extremely hittable. The Marlins blew a 9-run lead, and closer Kevin Gregg blew consecutive saves. The Marlins fell to 3.5 games back and were falling fast.

Turn the page to game 4 on Sunday. Chris Volstad gets called up from Carolina and enters the game down 4-3. Two scoreless, well pitched innings later, the Marlins have the lead, Volstad goes on to get the win and is promptly inserted into the starting rotation. Kevin Gregg pitched a solid inning Sunday, albeit with a 5-run lead. We also learn that Josh Johnson will be joining Volstad in the starting five. Johnson gets the start Thursday, Volstad on Friday.

Now, we come to tonight's game in San Diego. Emerging staff ace Ricky Nolasco pitches an 8 inning gem, giving up just 5 hits and 1 run. Due to the way the batting order fell in the top of the 9th, Nolasco came up just an inning short of the Marlins first complete game in 264 games. Kevin Gregg comes in and retires the Padres in order, recording the save.

Just to touch on it, the umpiring call made on Hanley's potential RBI double in the 7th was questionable, at best, although if you were listening to the Padres radio crew, they saw it as "the crew coming together, and they got the call right." Even the Marlins crew thought it was the right call, but it was more of an issue of overturning the original call. No one had a better view than the 3rd base ump who made the call.

Anyways, we'll never know what was said in the umpire conference, or who said they saw what, but whether it was fair or foul turned out to be a non-issue, thanks to Nolasco and Gregg. Nolasco threw like the staff veteran he is (despite being just 25, he is currently the oldest starting pitcher on the Marlins). He bested Greg Maddux, who still has not won since his 350th win came May 10th. With the new rotation, hopes are high. And thanks to the floundering Phillies, the Marlins are now just 1.5 games back of the division lead.

What a difference a day makes...

Josh Johnson and Chris Volstad In! Who's Out?

Imagine the utter delight I felt this morning when I learned that not one - but both - of the Marlins' dead weight rotation inhabitors were being relegated to the pen.

Yep, that's right! As reported here by Fish Stripes, both Ryan Tucker AND Mark Hendrickson are out. I never thought it would happen. I hoped, prayed, dreamed, but never believed. Finally, we're rid of Hendrickson!

How exciting will it be to see Josh Johnson pitch on Thursday, then Volstad on Friday. Suddenly, the Marlins have a good hurler going every night (and boy do they need it with the current status of the bullpen...Hendrickson included!) The next five games? Nolasco-Miller-Olsen-Johnson-Volstad. I like all five of them right now.

I would imagine Ryan Tucker gets sent down to AAA once Josh Johnson is officially called up. I like Tucker a lot, but it's obvious he needs more refinement. Hendrickson gave a great April, a mediocre May, and a horrible June-July. The time was right. I hope he regains some form in his new role, but he just couldn't be put out there any more.

Opposite Coasts, Opposite Direction

On the Atlantic side of things, the Marlins are struggling like, well, like fish out of water. Florida was once again rocked by the Rockies (I'm full of the obvious puns tonight!), this time by the score of 12-6. A common thread in many of these recent losses is a lack of longevity in starting pitching. Tonight's starter, Ryan Tucker, last just 4 innings. He gave up 8 runs on 7 hits, with 6 of those runs coming in his final inning. This marks a Major League record 263rd straight game without a complete game pitched. To make matters worse, one of the Marlins more reliable relievers, Justin Miller, was put on the 15 day DL earlier today. Closer Kevin Gregg has had a rough stretch, failing in his last 2 attempts to record a save. On the season, Gregg is 15 of 21. The Marlins are going to have to find longer starts from someone in the rotation if they hope to keep pace.

Meanwhile, on the other coast (of Florida), the Rays have the best record in baseball. With their win over the Royals tonight, Tampa extended its winning streak to 6, and its lead in the AL East is at 4 games. The Rays are 9-1 in their last 10. Perhaps the most telling stat is their home record, 35-13. The friendly confines of the Trop have been... devilish... to their opponents. The Rays, as opposed to their Floridian counterparts, have 3 pitchers who have complete games this season, including 3 time CG-er, James Shields. Closer Troy Percival, although currently on the DL, is saving games at a much better clip (19 of 21). Quality pitching = wins.

The Marlins are still only 3.5 games back of the Phils, but now sit just one game over .500. To make things worse, the Mets are starting to play well. They are just one game behind the Fish after their win against the Phillies. The Fish continue their tour of the NL west with 1 more against the Rockies tomorrow, and then a trip to lowly San Diego where they need to make a statement. A 4 game series against the struggling Dodgers offers more opportunities to turn things around before the All-Star break. Oh yeah, the first series after the break is at home against the Phillies.

The Rays lead the highly financed AL East by 4 games, and are playing like a team that will be there in October. Tampa still has 2 more against the Royals, then a quick 2 game set with at Yankee Stadium, followed by a 3 game series in Cleveland against another surprisingly wallowing team in the Indians. They won't see Boston or New York again until the first week in September.

With one week to go before the break, both clubs have opportunities against lesser opponents to show that they are planning to play meaningful baseball well into September. Hopefully, Florida will have multiple representation in October.

Quick Notes

I'm going to try and do this once or twice a week. These are just a few observations:


-Jamie Moyer has become so bad late in his career, that he is good. If only Roger Clemens could have learned from him...

-The Braves have signed Jorge Julio. Did the Braves decide that this was cheaper than holding a press conference to concede the season?

-Uggla has looked Uggla since that Walk-Off Granny...(Of course, as I write this, he hits an RBI single.)

-I know it's still early, but looking at the division and Wild Card standings, it is going to be a real fight for the Fish to get a playoff spot.

-Is there anything more boring that off-season football discussion? I'm sorry, but it's the heart of baseball season, and the NBA finals have been extremely entertaining. Save the talk about the Bengals backup OT.

-This weekend's wild ride of a U.S. Open marked the first time I watched golf for more than 30 seconds in a row. I salute Tiger Woods.

-I realize that it is all about the money, but Staples Center turning into the Academy Awards has hurt the team, the "fans" don't even seem to know when to cheer.

-Back to the NBA and money. Is it a bad sign when scouting reports are now telling us how, and in favor of what team, will each game be officiated?

-One more time. How many people are going to have to sue Clay Bennett before people realize what an injustice the Sonics' situation is?

-What the hell, here's another. David Stern is slowly becoming one of the shadiest commissioners in the history of sports. I realize Donaghy is a scumbag, but these officiating rumors, joined with the Seattle situation, ave really got me wondering about this guy.

-Neither KG or Kobe has impressed me at all this series. Paul Pierce is the only "star" who is significantly adding to his legacy.

-Ricky Nolasco's Drug-Free commercial is nothing but high comedy.

-Forget it, I'm mad at the NBA. Oklahoma City? Really?

-I'm almost positive that one of Derek Fisher's three-pointers hit the roof of the Staples Center.

-Having Willingham for interleague play would've been nice. Maybe I just don't like Wes Helms...

-Ryan Tucker looks like he should be on the 90210 remake.

-What happened to Hendrickson? Do the effects of Lasik only last a couple of months?

-Most exciting game, in any sport, that I've watched all week? Turkey vs Cezch Republic in the Euro Cup.

-I've had no complaints with Fredi Gonzalez, but he needs to find a way to manage pitch count better. Every pitcher we have seems overworked.


-Was I the only one hoping for a "Yankees Wang Hurt" headline? I was? Oh well...

Nolasco Splendid

Ricky Nolasco is becoming the Marlins' definitive ace. He was superb today, going 8 2/3 innings on route to his seventh victory. It was a shame he couldn't get the complete game, but Fredi had no choice but to take him out after 130+ pitches.

The Marlins are 2-3 in their last five games, but the rotation (usually the weak point) held its end of the bargain. Miller and Nolasco were phenomenal in their wins, while Scott Olsen pitched extremely well and Hendrickson was adequate in losing efforts. Only Ryan Tucker performed poorly, and he settled down after a shaky start to the game.

With the next three games in Seattle against the struggling Mariners, I like the Marlins' chances of regaining some lost momentum. Look for strong showings from Miller and Olsen in the next two, with a bounce back game from Ryan Tucker on Wednesday.

Marlins Tidbits

Today, I'm going to give you three tidbits, all courtesy of Fish Stripes (and all excellent). Fish Stripes does such a wonderful job covering the Marlins, and we're grateful to read their content every day.

The first piece of news - which is pretty significant - is that Ryan Tucker will remain in the rotation. The casualty? Burke Badenhop. While that's not at all surprising, I do feel for Badenhop. He never really got the opportunity to assert himself. Sure, he had a number of shaky starts, but he also showed that when his sinker was working, he could be an effective back-of-the-rotation guy. I expect he'll be back at some point.

As for Ryan Tucker, I'm very excited. Control is an issue, but he has some potent stuff. My one concern...could the Marlins be bringing him up to soon? Remember what happened to Jason Vargas and Annibal Sanchez? Sometimes you get off to a great start, then fall apart. Let's hope the Marlins aren't mishandling Tucker.

Secondly, there's some actual news on Josh Willingham. Yes, remember that guy who was batting .341 and used to play for the Marlins? It seems he's finally on the way back, but don't expect him to return right away. I'm setting July 1st (secretly June 25th) as an optimistic date...but don't hold your breath.

Lastly, here's a few more reasons to believe in Dan Uggla's awesomeness. As Fish Stripes reports, Uggla is well on pace to break history. He could be the second 2B to hit 40 HRs and 40 doubles in a season. What's Uggla on pace for? 47 HRs and 60 doubles. Wow.

Welcome to the Big Leagues, Kid

Ryan Tucker has arrived. Mark it down, circle the date and remember this one, because it is the kind of starting pitching kick-start that the Fish need. And after last night's error-filled, opportunity-missed, cowbell rung, Cody Ross saved game, the Marlins will try to put the recent sloppy play behind them and get things rolling again.

(By the way: We could have something with these cowbells, Cody Ross seemed to respond very well to them, as well as the chants of "CODY! CODY! CODY!" that rang out before, during and after his dramatic walk-off.)

The reason I haven't posted in a while was that I was preoccupied with the Marlins' dreadful showing of pitching in Atlanta. Riding all the way from Turner Field back to North Springs on MARTA after the Fish blew three leads in that series wasn't fun. I did enjoy the ride on Wednesday afternoon however, after Rabelo and Hanley hit those tying and winning homers, respectively.

Anyway, it seemed, for good reason, that the Braves and their fans were more comfortable coming from behind against the shaky Marlins hurlers.

Which brings me back to Tucker, who with his electric stuff, can infuse life into this worn-down staff like Dontrelle Willis did in 2003.

As Tucker sat on the bench and watched his new teammates pad the 2-1 lead he left the game with, he was accompanied by Scott Olsen. Don't know what Olsen was telling him (I'm kind of worried though, based on this article) but it probably was something along the lines of:

"Welcome to the Big Leagues, kid."

Marlins fans sure are glad you're here.